Lionsgate’s Hulu-FX Movie Deal Shows Change in TV Landscape

In the latest sign of how streaming services are shaking up traditional TV, Disney’s majority-owned Hulu and fully owned cable channel FX have jointly bought the rights to show Lionsgate’s recently released movies starting next year, according to people familiar with the situation.

FX and Hulu are buying rights now held by MGM’s TV channel Epix. Lionsgate’s slate in 2020 and 2021 include movies such as a sequel to its horror movie franchise “Saw,” as well as “I Still Believe,” the story of Christian music star Jeremy Camp. The deal shows how streaming services are becoming the TV outlets of choice for movies fresh from the theatre, usurping a role that premium cable channels such as Epic, HBO, Showtime and Starz have played for decades.

Shania Twain, who will star in Lionsgate's upcoming movie "I Still Believe." Photo by AP